Moose fall to Bears in stampede

The Palmer Moose fell to the Bartlett Golden Bears 44-26 Saturday in Palmer's homecoming game.

Bartlett came into the game ranked fourth in the state for large schools.

The game showcased a classic battle between two teams with powerful offensive lines and talented rushers to feature the running game.

Action and points came frequently as punters enjoyed a slow day.

A 44-26 score might indicate a blowout, but the game was much closer than the score showed.

The majority of Bartlett touchdowns came on single plays of long runs from scrimmage.

Palmer scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. Runs by Ali Larijani and Adam Norton moved the ball to Bartlett's 36-yard line.

From the 36-yard line, quarterback Charlie Bentti completed a pass downfield that is not drawn up in any play book.

The pass bounced off the intended receiver's hands and flew further downfield to an opportunistic Brent Bryant.

Bryant bobbled the ball, somehow cradled it between his legs, and fell in the end zone for the first score of the game.

Palmer added the extra point and led 7-0 at 9:28 in the first quarter.

Midway through the first quarter, a bad punt by Palmer gave Bartlett the ball on Palmer's 27-yard line. Bartlett's Drew Williams ran the first play around the right side and in for a 27-yard touchdown. Bartlett converted the two-point conversion and took the lead, 8-7.

On Palmer's next possession, an interception by Bentti gave Bartlett the ball on Palmer's 49-yard line.

With another big play, Bartlett's Boaz Gionson ran to the right side and into the end zone from 32 yards out.

The quickness and speed of Gionson posed problems for Palmer throughout the game.

The two-point conversion was good, increasing Bartlett's lead to 16-7.

Palmer regrouped on its next possession. Following a nice kick-off return by Bryant to Palmer's 49-yard line, the Moose again drove behind the tandem of Larijani and Norton.

Larijani punched in a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. With the extra point, Palmer trailed Bartlett 16-14.

On Bartlett's next possession, Gionson struck again, this time with a 40-yard touchdown run, to increase Bartlett's lead 22-14.

Palmer drove downfield again, effectively mixing runs between Larijani and Norton. With the ball on the 2-yard line, Larijani followed the great lead blocking of Norton into the end zone to again pull Palmer within two points of Bartlett.

The two-point conversion by Palmer was no good, keeping the score 22-20 with 4:49 remaining in the first half.

Bartlett scored three unanswered touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters off a 75-yard run, a 39-yard touchdown pass, and a 21-yard touchdown run, giving Bartlett a 44-20 lead with 5:53 left in the game.

Palmer added a touchdown late in the game when Bentti hit Dustin Eley on a 9-yard touchdown pass to cut the score to 44-26.

The game ended at 44-26 with Palmer unable to overcome the big plays of Bartlett's running game.

Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen attributed Bartlett's success to good blocking and coaching.

"We were gambling on some plays to take away some of their best things and they burned us on something else," Christiansen said.

Palmer hosts Colony in its final game of the regular season Friday at 7 p.m.